After losing his major-label contract with Matador, Jimi Tenor returned not only to his old label (S?hk? Recordings), but also to the basement-level productions and bizarre soul of his early records. The opener (and title track) certainly doesn't sound like a utopian dream though -- the deep vocals and dark electro chords sound more like a Drexciya record than Finland's favorite Prince imitator. The highlights "Moonfolks" and "Gentle Afternoon" are faux-na?ve vignettes produced with the cheap drum machine on autopilot and Tenor working it out, either on his primitive keyboards or with his tremulous falsetto (sometimes at the same time!). Though a few tracks have the lunar lounge-act finesse that made 1997's Intervision such a breakout record, Utopian Dream is a sprawling mess, an attempt to re-create the flip side of Sly Stone's tossed-off classic There's a Riot Goin' On, but lacking even that record's pittance of organization. Summing it all up is "Neumatico Rojo," a half-hearted attempt at remaking an older, better track. Tenor gets plenty of points for individuality and his apparent refusal to conform to "normal" attitudes of music-making, but the result is a dark record that reveals few of its secrets and confuses more than it excites. -- John Bush